Battlefield | Arnhem Part 1 | Operation Market Garden

These episodes tell the tragic story of the ‘bridge too far’ and the ill-fated ‘Operation Market Garden’ – the allied Operation that was supposed to end World War Two in 1944. Planned by Field Marshal Montgomery, the operation was the biggest airlift of the war, with some 10,000 troops parachuting into Nazi-occupied Dutch territory to secure bridgeheads over the Rhine, the Waal and the Maas. The key to success was the element of surprise; British troops were to take Arnhem itself, while US troops were assigned the bridges to the south of the city, and all seemed set for success. Unfortunately for the allies, however, two divisions of the SS Panzer Corps had arrived in Arnhem before the attack began and German intelligence had learned of the battle plan. The attack, which was made on 17th September 1944, was a disaster. The 9th and 10th Panzer Divisions penned the British in the city itself, and although the Americans fought their way as far as Nijmagen, they were unable to secure the bridge at Elst. Despite the arrival of Polish re-enforcement’s on 21st September, all Allied efforts to break through were repulsed with enormous losses. The withdrawal was ordered four days later. Montgomery’s rather fanciful conclusion that Market Garden was ‘90% successful’ was hardly supported by the facts. For no gains 1400 allied troops had been killed and 6,000 taken prisoner – the war would certainly not be ended in 1944. Licensed through Mercury Studios ► Subscribe to get all the latest content https://bit.ly/3p4PcTX ► Connect with us online and our socials: Website: www.4digitalmedia.com Facebook:   / thewarchannel   Twitter:   / thewarchanneltv   #thewarchannel